The Underlying Theme
by nukerjsr
Summary: Extended version of the last scene from Chapter 21 of "A Second Opinion." A more in-depth look into the playing of video games and the effects they have.


Well, I guess this deserves a little bit of explaination. Like I said in Chapter 21, you guys have just been fantastic. My reviews have gone up, my hits for the story have gone up, and I have no one to thank but all of you readers. Thank you all for this. And this is what you deserve. I'm personally going through a stressed time, so I haven't been able to completely Chapter 22. But I shall get it done. And I hope this will entertain you in the mean time.

Now, I really wanted to add in this scene, but if I did the chapter would just be way too long. I wasn't even expecting this to be so long. But it's much better if I seperate it from the story. This chapter will really appeal to you fans who love the games and love descriptions.

To define this additional scene, I would not call this a songfic. The song isn't there to make the scene look better or to be played while reading. This song is actually being played and sung in the content of the chapter. It's to go along with everything to really create the full on Rock Band, cooperative experience.

I hope you all enjoy. And if you don't catch the song by the first few lyrics, just glimpse at the very bottom of the author's notes to find it out.

**Disclaimer: Lucky Star is owned by Kagami Yoshimizu. Rock Band is properity of Electronic Arts and Harmonix. Song information located at the bottom.**

* * *

The four boys were too caught up in their own conversation to hear the kitchen door opening. Patricia slumped out of the room with soulless eyes and a peculiarly red face. Her socks pressed against the carpet as she barely moved in the room. She laid down on her futon, feeling strangely heavy at that moment. It felt as if anvils were tied to her head or a giant screw was bored into it.

The things she had witnessed on that laptop were a bit much for her to completely conceive. It was had for her to lay her eyes on the roommate who had been there for so long. He was preoccupied with his game, but that didn't matter. What did matter though was the complex information found. Kaito slowly looked around the room, trying to figure out the best way to extend his friend's play time. He was a little stunned that he once again missed Patricia walking in.

"Patricia, would you mind doing us a favor?"

Her head clicked again, as she saw the eager males waiting for her response. "Oh um…what do you need?" She said, with her voice reflecting the condition of her eyes.

Kaito ignored this, simply cutting to the chase. "The guys are going to leave soon, and we decided to choose one last song to play. Would you like to choose the final song?"

Patricia's ears perked up to this. Letting her make a decision now seemed like a brand new window of opportunity. "Sure. Can I see the songs?"

With that cue, Kaito moved from the stats screen to a different scene all together. It looked like a floating gray scroll with several titles listed. Without precaution, he randomly moved down the list with each tap of his strum bar. He wanted to have one nice to play that would leave today's experience on a happy note. As he started to reach the end though, he was quickly told to halt.

"Right there." The gaijin said.

He stopped on the correct, double titled song. She looked at the name with awe as the demo started to echo through the name. This band was quite precious to her. On some bad days from her school back in the United States, her dad would blast the volume on that album in the car. The lyrics would just make her feel incredibly upbeat and in sync with the world, even if it wasn't the bubblegum Jpop music of today.

"Can you play that one?" She asked softly.

"No problem."

At that whim, the group moved to the next scene of choosing their difficulty. They waited patiently for the loading screen to move towards the game play. As the song loaded, they looked very interested in the mood set for this particular place. The background was illuminated by several candles being partially incased with fog. The four avatars stood there as they waited for their parts to soon be played. A melodic organ started things of with a slow beat, but quickly moved into a major unison bonus for the three instrument players.

Ryuta started the session off hitting a strange roll on his fake hi-hat. This continued on until the bassist entered the fray, causing an even larger influx of sound and causing the drummer to move onto his "tom-toms." After a few smashes at the snare, bass slowly moved its way into the rhythm, as Taichi flicked away single notes at his controller. The drummer increased the song as he started to stomp on the bass pedal at the same time of each strum.

In another stop, Ryuta filled in a roll as he activated his overdrive, blasting the sounds of the drums. His single movement changed from one drums to three. His ambidexterity kicked in as he hit his snare with his left, and swept the between the tom-tom and crash cymbal. The wondrous sounds of piano and electric guitar blended smoothly into mix as it created an explosion of progressive rock music. The strummers activated their overdrive, giving them extra points and a larger influx to their sound.

Kaito got irritated by a familiar feeling. He paused the game, causing some outrage by his friends.

"What the hell man." Ryuta said annoyed.

"It's my phone guys, I have to take this." Kaito said. He looked at the clear, information giving piece of the phone. "It's my mom."

"Tell her I said hi!" Taichi said strangely skittish.

He flicked open the phone and placed it near his ear. "Hello? Hi mom, how are you? Good, having fun at Ryuta's."

His three friends sweat dropped, disapproving of the bold-face lying he would do.

"Really?!" Kaito said with enthusiasm. "That's great! I'll see you tomorrow mom!" He closed his phone.

"What happened?" Minoru asked.

"Excellent news guys, my house is fixed! I'll be going back to it tomorrow!"

As his three friends cheered on with shouts, Patricia still felt strangely dormant. He's leaving now? It had been so long…and with this new breakthrough of fun and enjoyment? Her brain felt even more confused. She tilted her head back, letting her pillow to try and cleanse her thoughts. Now there was only one day left to truly understand her roommate…

After the small celebration, they kicked back into their serious game mode. Kaito pressed the Start button.

The drummer returned his blue pads to set up the next scene. This time, however, put bass in the spotlight. With each pluck, the powerful low note echoed throughout the room while the game camera looked at the highlighted instrument. Accompanying this was the sound of Minoru tapping on his microphone. The taps were converted into the shaking of a tambourine, which blended in quite well with the blasting bass power.

The bass ended its solo returning to the glorious fusion of all the instruments. The only difference this time was the delightful sound of metal jingles. Kaito, Taichi and Ryuta again activated their overdrive to give them a large point increase. A small ding was heard, giving the collective score an impressive three stars for the beginning of the song. Even as it would slow down, to show off Ryuta's drumming, the instrumental roller coaster seemed to be never ending.

At that moment though, a 100 appeared on Shiraishi's part of the screen. The rolls from the snares and cymbals moved to a snails pace. The two guitar players were left hitting simple long notes. After repeating this process four times, the three of them hit one last monumental unison bonus. None of the players had to do anything at this point. The soft, simple melody of the organ played on, allowing the players to absorb some of the ambiance.

"Is something supposed to happen?" Taichi asked.

"Don't know." Kaito said.

"Just wait for it…" Patricia mumbled to herself.

Slowly, bass re-entered the song. Taichi made some easy strums along a single fret as his bespectacled friend tapped on his pedal. Once the drummer smacked on his pads, the true song began to play. Kaito's side of the screen lit up as he hit the first four long notes without problem. The guitar took center stage as each high note of the electric guitar sang the melody of the song. As he danced along the frets, the simple beats from the other instruments balanced the song incredibly well.

Ending that solo on a sustained note, the hardest part of the song kicked in. Minoru took a quick breath before matching the lyrics on the screen.

"_It's been such a long time--_" Minoru sang, trying to pinpoint on the pitch. Ryuta and Taichi went along with their simple patterns as Kaito waited for more notes to appear. "_I think I should be going- yeah. And time doesn't wait for me--, it keeps on roll--ing._"

Kaito quickly hit some chords during a small break of the singing, elevating the next set of lyrics.

"_Sail on...on a distant highway, yeah._" Both the game and the teenager harmonized. "_I got to keep on chasin' a dream, I got to be on my way-- wish there was something I could say._"

At that moment, the three instrument players hit a concluding unison bonus. It caused the bass player and drummer to stop, but Kaito went in a small instrumental solo. Yet his guitar strangely transformed from electric to acoustic. Along with the simple strumming were the sounds of hands clapping along to the beat. After a small break, two sounds echoed through the room.

"_Well I'm taking my time…_" The game sang.

"_I'm just moving on…_" Shiraishi said, as his character was focused on in the game. "_You'll forget about me after I've been gone._"

"_And I take what I find_. _I don't want no more-- it's just outside of your front door._"

At that time, Kaito finished his quick picking; he hit a long three note chord. In the game, the bassist pointed at the crowd while the drummer hit his drumsticks together to pass the time. The beat picked up again as Ryuta hit a light roll. The vocals began to pick up once again.

"_Ah yeah, yeah yeah--it's been such a long time. It's been such a long--time!_" Minoru shouted as he was getting into the groove of the game.

As his vocal chords rested again, Kaito was put back into the spotlight. He began to hit a very slow, but noticeable riff that was overshadowing both instruments. But later into the solo, a massive trill appeared causing the boy to frantically press the red and yellow fret. After that was over, a menacing, yet beautiful set of yellow, blue, and orange ascending triplets appeared across the screen. The boy was successfully able the nail them all, ending the solo on with a long note. A 100 dangled above his side of the screen.

"Good one, Kaito!" Ryuta complemented

"Thanks." Kaito quickly returned.

Minoru could congratulate his friends, as the words automatically reappeared. "_Well, I get so lonely--when I am without you._" He sang, with an increasingly high pitch. "_But in my mind, deep in my mind, I can't forget about you._"

The process began to repeat itself as Kaito again hit a similar set of power chords. Patricia slowly watched on as all four of her friends played on. The words and sounds of the music began to creep within her soul. It was beautiful, but felt tragic to continue on like the many drama visual novels she had seen. The lyrics were being absorbed as she looked on between the game and her roommate.

"_Good times…and faces that reminds me--yeah. I'm tryin' to forget your name, and leave it all behind--me. You're coming back to find me…_" Minoru sang with the last phrase being strangely quiet and high at the same time.

The acoustic solo once again went into play, but this time it gave the guitarist and singer a boost from Kaito quickly tilting his guitar.

"_Well I'm taking me time._" The tv blared. It confused the gamers that the game didn't cause the players to sing the entirety of the song.

"_I'm just moving on--you'll forget about me after I've been gone. And I take what I find--I don't want no more. It's just outside of your front door--_"

After that last chord, the other two instrument players put themselves into play. Taichi and Ryuta activated their own overdrive, giving them a major boost. Just as they began to sing again, a small ding was heard. Kaito focused a little bit off his game play to look at the scenery. A fifth star had appeared near the points. Not to mention that both the bassist and singer came close to the microphone.

"Y_eah yeah yeah--. It's been such a long time, It's been such a long time!_" The two voices sang

When the pitched in, the instruments all hit single, strong notes giving them a nice unison bonus of overdrive. The guitar focused attention on itself making a powerful hiss, in the form of three different sustained notes. A sharp screech of arpeggios entered the song in a staircase of orange, blue, and yellow notes. It then moved in a sequence of confusing trills, even causing Kaito to screw up from his rhythm. As it slowed down, more influence was put on the moving bass. Drums started to gain more attention as well as the tom-toms were being hit instead of the hi-hat.

When the solo ended, the three again triumphed in hitting another huge point bonus. At that moment, Shiraishi hit an incredibly high note as the game instructed him too, obstructing the rhythm of the game and players. He made a small cough as he tried to catch his breath. The momentum picked up again as Ryuta his a very slow roll of snares.

"Agh…this game is evil!" He choked out.

"That's why I'm playing the guitar." Kaito smirked.

"This song is more powerful than I remembered…" The foreigner though, still appeared untouched by the games mystifying power.

"_It's been such a long--time. I think I should be going, yeah--._ _And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on roll--ing._" He sang away. In another string of power chords, the lyrics changed up for once. "_There's a long road…I've got to stay in time with, yeah. I've got to keep on chasing that dream... though I may never find--it._"

The last view words echoed in Patricia's head as Minoru sang them in a hauntingly melodic way. "_I'm always just behind it--._"

The instruments picked up in one last surging way before the lyrics started to overshadow everything. Though it would alternate between the game and the player constantly.

"_Well, I'm taking my time._"

"_I'm just movin' on..._"

"_Taking my time_"

"_Eh--just moving on_."

"_Taking my time_"

"_I'm--just taking my time…yeah._"

"_Taking my time_"

"_Oh, you know I wanna get own home. Don't talk, don't stop._"

With that strangely quick succession of lyrics, the instrument players were starting to have difficulty themselves. The bass started to move in more intricate patterns becoming close-cornered together between the bottom frets. Kaito had to hit more long notes and trills, even if he wasn't doing a solo. The drum path paled in comparison to its blistering intro, but became trickier as Ryuta had to quickly hit the snare before hitting the bass pedal and crash cymbal.

"_Ow, just taking me time, oh--_

_Oh--, just taking me time, oh--_

_Just outside of…just outside of your front door!_"

In one last beat, Ryuta hit a fun series of notes between the blue, green, and bass pedal. The chorus sang off once against as Ryuta and Taichi finished off their notes in full combos. But that didn't mean the very end of the song, even if the bassist's side of the screen was blue and the singer's was flashing red. The game just couldn't let the song end that easily.

To end in a blaze of glory, the three instruments were greeted with all of the colors on their fretboards and drums. The vocalist's area shined in gold. The three teenagers bashed away at their instruments trying to get as many points as possible. But from all their wailing away, the game produced a truly amazing, lyrical melody. The guitar seemed to shine on with it's various high squeals, accompanied by the quick picking away at the bass.

The sequence ended, leaving one signal note for all of them to simultaneously hit. The tension was high on them after the epic eight minutes of play, but they hit their respective notes. In the center of the screen, a display showing off more than thirty-thousand points grew wings and flashed itself off. In game, the four avatars cheered in victory from playing that intense performance. The virtual audience reflected in the same way.

"Wow…" Ryuta said.

"I didn't want that to end!" Kaito said merrily. "It was just so beautiful!"

"That killed my vocal chords." Minoru complained. "But I still have to say that was one of the best songs we played."

"I did horrible, but I don't care." Taichi said. "Did we have to end on that note though? Now I don't want to leave."

"Your parents would rant." Kaito dismissed, still keeping a grin.

"I was getting worried there for a second." Ryuta said, scratching his face. "I thought my pedals or pads might break."

Kaito looked over at his roommate with much gratitude. "Thanks for choosing that song, Patricia-chan."

"It's…no problem." She said slowly, trying not to focus on everything.

As the teenagers were prepared to leave, Patricia slowly crept into her own little sanctuary. She sat in her chair as she pressed her body against the chair and desk. Her face felt heated and heavy. This day completely had taken her by surprise. Finding out those secrets, the boys coming into her apartment…and then the announcement of him going back home.

"Why…why did it have to be that song!?" She whined. She remembered the band, but didn't realize the lyrical effect of that song was so emotional. "Kaito-kun…you'll have to leave soon?"

She wiped the long sleeve from her winter uniform across her face. "Things have been better since he's been here. I can't let things just go their course."

Her serious train of thought was broken by some shouting.

"What the hell!? The pedal broke!" Ryuta screamed.

"Ah! We can't play again!" The chubby guy said

"Lousy peripherals…" Kaito sighed.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed it. If you haven't figured out, the song is called Foreplay/Long Time by the band, Boston. It's a superb band to listen to for inspiration, romance, and it just makes you feel great all around. Every "-" was suppost to indicate how long the vocal note is held.

Please review!

**Disclaimer: Foreplay/Long Time is owned by Epic Records, written by Tom Scholz and produced by Tom Scholz and John Boylan**


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